It’s unclear whether the bill would actually have any effect, as determining who is a citizen is the province of the federal government, and citizenship by birthright comes from the 14th Amendment. So I suspect that Berman’s bill is more about scoring political points than actually doing anything – especially when you consider his “reasoning” (to use a kind word for it).

Berman blames illegal immigrants for the financial crisis facing public hospitals, and says his bill would deter those who want to enter the country illegally.

“The benefit that illegal aliens have of checking into a hospital and receiving prenatal care, then having a child rewarded with U.S. citizenship is the most lucrative benefit they can have,” Berman said. “I’m a U.S. citizen. I don’t want to see the most precious benefit we have given away erroneously.”

If Berman’s concern is the finances of public hospitals, he’s picked an odd approach to address that. Public hospitals will treat anybody who needs care, citizen or not, legally in the US or not, and that is exactly as it should be. We are not a nation that is going to leave sick mothers or children sitting in the gutter while we have facilities to help them. Not yet, anyway, and I hope I never see the day that changes.

Berman’s bill would, however, change the financial situation; it would cost us all money:

But the bill sponsored by State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, that would deny birthright citizenship to those children could end up putting a heavier financial burden on already-overwhelmed public hospitals, increase costs to local taxpayers and create a population of children who do not receive basic medical care or immunizations, state and local health officials said.

One of every four births at public hospitals in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth are to illegal immigrant mothers, officials estimate. The mothers’ obstetrics costs are covered through a special Medicaid program. As U.S. citizens, the babies qualify for Medicaid or CHIPS coverage.

If the infants are denied automatic citizenship, however, thousands might not qualify for state or federal reimbursement programs — saddling the public hospitals with the extra costs, said King Hillier, vice president of public policy and government relations with the Harris County Hospital District, which includes Houston. “They would further exacerbate the problem of the uninsured in the state.”

Berman also seems convinced that citizenship by birthright is enticing people to cross the border illegally. This “anchor baby” idea is among the sillier things floating around in the immigration debate. Yes, if somebody enters the country illegally and have a child, that child will be a citizen. What’s the practical value of that?

Well, when your child grows up, she or he could apply to bring the parents into the country. Of course, that won’t happen for two decades, and will require the parents to leave the country for some time before trying to come back. It makes about as much sense as using the lottery as a retirement plan.

And there’s no real mystery about what motivates illegal aliens to enter the US: jobs. The economic opportunities of being in the US, even illegally, are so much better than what many people have at home that it’s worth a dangerous, possibly fatal, run across the border and life spent evading the law here.

Illegal immigration is a real problem that needs to be addressed at the cause – not by stupid proposals like Berman’s that are designed to penalize newborn babies and burden our public health system, and are probably unconstitutional anyway. It’s grandstanding of the lowest sort: playing to the fears of some of the public about immigrants, with destructive consequences.

That someone so unserious about dealing with a real problem is a member of our legislature is an embarrassment to Texas.